How to Make Your Own Tartar Sauce

As part of my official/unofficial “Fridge Door” series here on MKL, where I showcase ways to make various beloved and essential-to-me condiments, I’m sharing how to make your own tartar sauce today. And guys? This might be my favorite of them ALL (because, dill). I kid you not. This is the most incredibly delicious sauce, and it’s so cool with so many things. Yes, we can think beyond the fish with this stuff. Read on for my how-to on all things tartar (not “tarter”), or you can skip right ahead to this fabulous tartar sauce recipe, if you please.

What is Tartar Sauce?

I absolutely adore the “Fridge Door” series that I unofficially run here on MKL. Knowing how to make your own sauces and condiments is such a valuable thing for a home cook. There is no comparison between fresh, scratch made dressings, sauces, and condiments and the stuff that is mass produced, chock full o’ odd ingredients and preservatives, and left to sit on store shelves for who knows how long …

Anyway. Tartar sauce is a creamy, mayonnaise-based condiment that also contains pickles, capers, and lemon. This sauce is most often served with fish and seafood.

Tartar sauce originated in France as sauce tartare, named after the Tatars, who settled in the Ukraine and parts of Russia. The French, in producing this mayonnaise or aioli-based sauce, may have based the “tartar” moniker upon their own varied spelling of the Tatar name, which was “Tartare”.

Taste of Home

What does tartar sauce taste like?

Bright. Zippy. Zingy. Punchy. Perfectly creamy and acidic. Tartar sauce is all of those things, and more. It’s a bit like a remoulade, if you’ve ever enjoyed that on say, a Po Boy sandwich. The combination of pickles, fresh dill and lemon, AND capers makes this sauce ultra flavorful. It’s what makes it so addictive, to me. It perfectly complements mild, simple proteins (like fish and other seafoods), sure. But I actually love it as a burger topping or as a dipper for meat and cheese boards.

What can you serve tartar sauce with besides fish?

I like to serve tartar sauce on EVERYTHING, as it’s just so delicious. But seeing as how that’s not actually a helpful answer, here are my top three serving suggestions for tartar sauce, outside of the world o’ seafood:

1. BURGERS and SANDWICHES
2. Use it as a SALAD DRESSING! It would be killer on my Spiced Cauli and Chickpea Salad or as an alternative to the caesar dressing in this roasted broccoli salad.
3. SHRIMP ROLLS! Yes, you could swap in this fresh and creamy homemade tartar sauce for the dressing in my favorite shrimp rolls. T’would be awesome, me thinks.

Is tartar sauce gluten free?

Yes! There is no gluten to be found in a classic tartar sauce. But even so, I would advise you to check the label on your mayo, as you just never know, you know? In fact, when you serve this tartar sauce with my Easy Baked Fish and Chips, you get a totally gluten free experience that is packed with flavors and textures, with no gluten to worry about.

Homemade Tartar Sauce Ingredients

This list reads like a list of my favorite things. I’m totally the captain of Team Mayo (always, forever), and I could eat loads of dill and fresh lemon on my food every single day. Tartar sauce isn’t for the meek, okay? It’s a freaking flavor bomb of a sauce, and it will make anything up which you choose to slather it sing with flavor. It’s SO GREAT. Here’s what I like in mine:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup mayonnaise (full-fat please!)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ cup chopped dill pickles or dill relish (plus more if you like)

2 tablespoons capers (chopped if they’re huge)

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot (optional, but delicious)

Juice of ½ lemon

1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or to taste

Tartar Sauce Variations (fun twists!)

Use sweet + dill relish for greater depth of flavor.

Some people like a combo of dill and sweet relish in their tartar sauce. This is cool! If you think that sounds like you, just swap half of the amount of dill relish I call for, for the sweet stuff (1 tablespoon of each).

Some Like it Hot

Adding a few healthy dashes of Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce is always a great idea. Tartar sauce is great when its given a spicy spin, so go right ahead and sprinkle that pepper sauce into the mix.

Garlic is Life!

I personally like to add garlic to just about everything I eat at this point, and I do actually grate about half of a large clove of fresh garlic into my tartar sauce. Alternatively, about 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder will do the trick as well. Yes!

How do you make a lighter tartar sauce?

Ah. Good question. Making a healthy homemade tartar sauce is totally possible, and here’s how I like to take my tartar sauce to a lighter place without sacrificing one iota of deliciousness (notice it’s the same but with one ket ingredient swap):

Healthy Tartar Sauce RECIPE

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or not)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ cup chopped dill pickles or dill relish (plus more if you like)

2 tablespoons capers (chopped if they’re huge)

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot (optional, but delicious)

Juice of ½ lemon

1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or to taste

Combine all ingredients until well blended.

How to make your own tartar sauce

This is the simplest direction section (ha!) that I’ve written in quite some time. It’s one step guys! Just put everything in a bowl and stir it all up. Woo hoo! Easy peasy.

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until well blended. Taste and adjust for seasoning. This tartar sauce will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to two weeks. I don’t advice freezing this (mayo and the freezer aren’t friends).

Tartar Sauce Tips and other Miscellany

1. This isn’t a strict sort of recipe – we’re not baking here. This ain’t cake, y’all. So! run free with the amounts of things you throw into your bowl … use more capers! Or you can totally skip them. Go nuts with the fresh dill (heck, I always do). If you get to the end of the recipe, taste the stuff, and decide it’s actually a little too flavorful, the just add more mayo to mellow things out a bit. Cool.
2. This isn’t the time to reach for low fat mayo. You’re not doing yourself any favors by purchasing reduced fat products, as the fat is simply replaced with added sugars which will ultimately turn to fat in your body. Yikes. So, don’t eat things that taste worse, and that are more processed, just to save some fat grams. That ain’t it, guys.

Can I freeze my homemade tartar sauce?

NO. I really wouldn’t recommend you freeze this homemade tartar sauce recipe. Anything that is mayo or sour cream based isn’t going to fare well in the freezer, so just put it in a snug, lidded container in the fridge and you can use it happily for up to two weeks. But honestly? If you’re still using it after that long – if there’s still some left – then maybe this isn’t the recipe for you.

All this to say, this stuff is addictive and super tasty. It’s also really fast and easy to whip up. So, you shouldn’t need to store it for that long, you know? The point, as they say, is moot.

If you enjoyed learning how to make your own tartar sauce, you might also enjoy:

How to make green harissa

Best Ever Pimento Cheese

Homemade Peanut Lime Dressing

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